Like they say...for everyday drinking. Not much complexity, sweetness or umami. I'm becoming a green tea snob! I wouldn't push this away or anything but it reminds me why I spend more for the good stuff. I would, for example, spend a few bucks more and get the O-cha chiran for a better experience. Now the Takumi is a whole different deal. It's one of my favorites.

Thanks to Chip I will have tried 14 new shinchas this year!! What a fantastic experience this has been. Thanks again!!

Decided to go for the Maeda-en SP shincha après matcha today.1:1, 160*, 1min.Nice, pretty lime green infusions.However, tea was not very complex, sort of a faded tasting umami, some vegetal notes, but sort of indistinct.Overall not impressed.Have to rate this experience a "D".This has left me wondering about air exposure.With the travel, possible exposure to heat, and lack of air-tight packaging, well I wonder if the tea loses quality.Could explain my fairly consistent disappointments with the OTTI teas so far.Cheers.

puerhking wrote:Thanks to Chip I will have tried 14 new shinchas this year!! What a fantastic experience this has been. Thanks again!!

Wow, 14 shincha, you da mann! I am truly happy to be a part of that experience and to share it with you! (espeicially given your name maybe you will be changing it to ShinchaKing? )

I think your appraisal of Moe is pretty much spot on. It is not Takumi, and is priced accordingly.

woozl wrote:Into the Nishi organic todaylighter in body, very aromaticsmell the leaves warming oohhhsmells of ocean and lemons.good balance of astringency on the palate.3 tasty steeps.good every day tea

I am impressed with this ORGANIC offering from a "domestic" USA vendor. They have been committed to offering an enhanced Japanese tea ine up and are to be commended!

Seeker wrote:Decided to go for the Maeda-en SP shincha après matcha today ... Have to rate this experience a "D".This has left me wondering about air exposure.With the travel, possible exposure to heat, and lack of air-tight packaging, well I wonder if the tea loses quality.Could explain my fairly consistent disappointments with the OTTI teas so far.

Seeker, I hope you enjoy the rest of your OTTI 4 as much as you did the OTTI 1 samples which you gave very high marks (all A's and a B).

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Seeker! It is through constructive criticism that I hope to continually improve the OTTIs.

FYI, the OTTI 4 teas were taken out of cold storage and/or opened the day of packaging in order to assure optimal freshness. I am pretty fanatical about freshness.

However the packaging will be changing. This has been a source of delays and frustrations as I continue to wait and wait. I hope the folded foil individual packets were virtually airtight, but even the zip foil bags are not airtight. After zipping closed, you can still force air out through the zip.

I will be posting a new topic under OTTI outlining changes and that will allow anyone and everyone to post suggestions. Of course, anyone can PM me any time!

I was very fortunate to pull the tea from my mail box secs.after delivery! Both 90F days. Unplanned, just sincha karma I guess. so freshness is still hanging,and Chip, that packing, how'd ya work yer way thru uni

True, true - round 1 was good!I think my response to today's tour result may have run over into my tasting!My apologies.Also, I think I was thinking more of my experiences with the SN's and Oo's, none which of which were very impressive for me (and I think I had my hopes up, something I do to myself all on my own which almost always leads to disappointment. With movies I have to actively talk myself down before a viewing sometimes!)

Also, I retrieved my pckg from the mailbox last evening, and it had reached 90+ yesterday here, and our mb is in direct sun all day. Such is life!

Another thought about subjectivity, this weekend I had been at my local tea spot, and was tasting this years Lu Shan. It didn't impress me. So my fav tea wielder tasted too, he agreed it seemed off, and suggested that being in the canister rather than sealed completely away from air had an impact. He then went to the back and opened a fresh air tightsealed pack of Lu, and we tasted that -- definitely better, richer, and more complex; same tea, harvest, etc.So that was on my mind, and I guess I was just musing out loud.

Seeker wrote:True, true - round 1 was good!I think my response to today's tour result may have run over into my tasting!My apologies.

No apology required. TBH, you did not seem quite yourself.

And TBH, yesterday's Tour stage actually still has me in a mood most foul. One thing for certain, that stage has defined this year's Tour and regardless of which side of the fence you are on, everyone's reaction was STRONGER than any Shincha I have had ... Phil Ligget was even not himself and was rather rude, and I consder him to be a consummate gentleman. (Personally, I felt Contador was unsportsmanlike to attack the yellow jersey at that exact moment, completely bogus ... and I am being gracious)

Anyway. I have received packages from Japan that were well over 100*, so I certainly understand that, but it is hard to control the weather and when you receive every package.

Last night I had the Shizuoka First Flush Kukicha and right now I am drinking the Nishi Organic.

Mmmm they are so good once I dump in two teaspoons of sugar and a splash of half and half. Ommm nom nom

I'm not a green tea guy (yet), but I am enjoying everything so far and am following your brew guidelines, Chip. This is my second go at Shincha-- last year I bought a bag of YM from o-cha and ended up with more than I really needed and sadly didn't consume all of it in its prime *tear*... but I did make some delicious cold brew from it several months later.

So I'm loving this shincha OTTI because it's enough tea for me to handle and I don't have to worry about spending lots of cash monies on shincha and end up having it just sit unconsumed.

That being said... delicious offerings so far

Last edited by bsteele on Jul 21st, '10, 13:12, edited 1 time in total.

bsteele wrote:Last night I had the Shizuoka First Flush Kukicha and right now I am drinking the Nishi Organic.

Mmmm they are so good once I dump in two teaspoons of sugar and a splash of half and half. Ommm nom nom

I'm not a green tea guy, but I am enjoying everything so far and am following your brew guidelines, Chip. This is my second go at Shincha-- last year I bought a bag of YM from o-cha and ended up with more than I really needed and sadly didn't consume all of it in its prime *tear*... but I did make some delicious cold brew from it several months later.

So I'm loving this shincha OTTI because it's enough tea for me to handle and I don't have to worry about spending lots of cash monies on shincha and end up having it just sit unconsumed.

That being said... delicious offerings so far

Had you poured sugar and half and half, the leaves cry of agony would have been heard here. So, I am not worried.

Regarding shincha or sencha that has been open too long, sometimes a really short pan roasting can rejuvinate the leaves! Takes care and practice however ... and seemingly some nerves. But cold brewing works too.

Ah the sae-midoriWell Chip put these in order so I am tasting them that way.Now we are ramping up everything.This is thick soupy umami mouthfilling stuff.Still great tension with astringency vs. smoothness.The second steep is nuclear green.